IOGEAR GFR201 Memory Bank CompactFlash Card Reader
A modders best friend, (after his tools of course), is the digi-cam so the whole world can bask in the glory of your latest masterpiece. Most digi-cams nowadays store the images on Compact Flash cards and use USB to download them to the PC. Camera resolution is constantly improving and bringing with it the inevitable ever increasing image file size. Whilst modern cameras sport very sophisticated and powerful CPUs, they are optimised for picture taking and not data communications. The result, a thumb twiddling session whilst the pictures are copied to the PC. In a typical week I take 500-600 pictures, each between 1-6MB in size, plus the occasional movie file! So when the IOGEAR Memory Bank Card Reader arrived for review, I was interested to see how much difference it would make to my download times. Of course Compact Flash is used in other devices such as MP3 players, PDAs and data storage devices, it's just that the digi-cam is the most pertinent to modding so that's what I will be using for this review.
IOGEAR is a leading connectivity manufacturer specialising in cool looking, state of the art PC peripherals such as KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse), FireWire, USB (Universal Serial Bus) and USB 2.0 solutions, targeted toward home users as well as small to medium sized businesses. The GFR201 card reader is one of the very first to use USB 2.0 on the market. Lets see what they have to say about their card reader...
The GFR201 Memory Bank CompactFlash Card Reader is a solution for hi-speed, bi-directional image and data transfer. Images and data can be downloaded quickly from CompactFlash memory cards used in many applications, including digital cameras and MP3 devices. At the speed of 3.5 MB per second, sustained data transfer rate, it is up to 100 times faster than the standard digital camera connection.
The GFR201 Card Reader is an ideal way to bridge the gap between your desktop PC and devices like digital cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and handheld/palmtop PCs. No matter where you go, your PC Card Reader allows you to easily bring your digital images and data with you. Transfer pictures, data, and music at blazing USB 2.0 Speeds, up to 480 Mbps. Just plug the Memory Bank™ into your computer's USB 1.1 or 2.0 port and you're ready to go in seconds.
Features
• Easy installation; Plug-n-Play
• Supports USB specification v2.0
• Supports CompactFlash specification v1.2
• Supports 16/32/64/128/256/512/1024 MB capacity CompactFlash memory
• Supports CompactFlash Type II
• Data Transfer rate compliant to the maximum of ATA speed
• LED Power Indicator/Data Indicator Light
• Remarkable high-speed digital image and data transfer to computer
• Specifically designed for digital cameras and also ideal for using with Palmtop PCs, Handheld PCs, PDAs, Voice Recorders and other mobile electronics
• Hot swapping capacity for replacing PC storage cards without restarting the computer
• 3 Year Limited Warranty
• 1 Type A USB Connection